This invention relates in general to devices for use in lifting and moving a load and in particular to apparatus for removing and replacing manhole covers and gratings.
Many years ago it was recognized there is a need for a special device to enable workers to remove manhole covers and gratings more safely and easily than with simple tools. Numerous inventions have been patented in an attempt to fill this need; however, of all those I have been able to find, all appear to me in themselves to introduce safety hazards into the work and appear to require great skill and care if they are to be used without accident, or appear unsatisfactory for other reasons. Part of the problem is that over the years manhole covers weighing up to 500 pounds have come into use. Many of the devices cannot be used with or will fail under such loads. Some can not practically be repaired. Some it seems would allow the cover to swing into and break a worker's leg. Others might slip and allow a handle to hit the worker, or lead the worker to step into a dangerous position, or lead the worker to assume a posture that leads to back injury. Others look unwieldy to store or transport, expensive to manufacture, or otherwise unsuitable for daily use. Some of the devices only work satisfactorily on a stable floor or are only useful for loads that have specific kinds of points of attachment. Some that might be useful for removing manhole covers and gratings appear of little or no use in replacing them. The dissappointing fact of the matter is that the current general practice is still the use of simple bars and brute strength, and the need for a better device remains unfilled.